1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to information handling systems, and in particular, to a general use software management technique.
2. Background Description
Applications usually consist of a number of independent source files maintained in a file system. Software developers can work with the source code contained in these in a number of ways. A source code segment can be edited as part of a larger coding effort, and/or compiled into an executable or even into several different executables. Thus, a single source file can be used in several contexts, and any of these context can also be part of a body of multiple overlapping contexts.
However, the single source file physically exists in only one location.
When developing software, one of the first tasks of the developer or manager is often to determine the nature and location of the source file contents in the application being used. This is frequently done by using disk directories, on an ad hoc basis, as an organizational vehicle. Some common examples are directory structures to reflect project builds or makes, directory structures to reflect source version hierarchies, and project and department organizations.
The content of a request may require a change in the containment hierarchies of the directory structure. Therefore, a common approach is to initially organize the directories for the most frequently-used context, and devise dedicated software "tools" to copy or rearrange the directories to support the context required by other task demands, as they arise.
Some file systems provide mechanisms for creating "shadow objects" copies of the original source files, and hierarchies. These are then maintained as file system directories in the ordinary manner.
All of this leaves the structure of the source files and the directories in various states typically understood only by the user that organized it. Often this is simply the last requester.
As the complexity and/or size of a project grows, this problem becomes more of an exposure. Steps must be taken to correct it, but there is currently no known management system providing a flexible point of control, particularly over directory structures that have become standardized and unchangeable.